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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. file — a line of people
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. content — the amount
  6. mine — for digging
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — music
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. branch — a division
  14. content — happy
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. present — there
  17. file — a tool
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. file — a document
  22. pop — soda
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com